1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to voting systems and, more particularly, to a system and method for detecting security features on paper ballots.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of different types of voting equipment are used in the United States and throughout the world. In many jurisdictions, a voter receives a traditional paper ballot on which is printed the various races to be voted on. The voter votes by darkening or otherwise marking the appropriate mark spaces on the paper ballot. The marked paper ballot may then be dropped in a ballot box, with the ballot later being transferred to a centralized location for tabulation by a central ballot counter. Alternatively, many jurisdictions provide a local precinct ballot counter at the polling place in order to expedite the tabulation of votes. In either case, the marked ballot is inserted into a ballot counter or tabulator which is operable to read the selections marked on the ballot and tabulate votes based on those selections. As additional ballots are processed, the tabulator keeps a running total of the votes cast for each candidate (or other choice) for each of the races printed on the ballot.
In jurisdictions that use traditional paper ballots, an electronic ballot marking device may be provided for use by voters who are blind, vision-impaired, or have a disability or condition that would make it difficult or impossible to manually mark a paper ballot in the usual way. In operation, a voter receives a paper ballot from a poll worker and takes the paper ballot to the ballot marking device. The voter inserts the paper ballot into the device, whereby the paper ballot is scanned and the various races to be voted on are presented to the voter either visually on a touch screen display or audibly via headphones. The voter then selects his/her votes using one of several different types of input devices (e.g., a touch screen display, Braille-embossed keys, etc.). Once the voter confirms that the selected votes are correct, a printer marks the paper ballot by printing marks in the appropriate mark spaces on the paper ballot. The voter or a poll worker then drops the marked paper ballot in a ballot box for tabulation by a central ballot counter, or the marked paper ballot is directly inserted into a precinct ballot counter.
One issue that has been raised with respect to central and precinct ballot counters is that such systems do not guard against the tabulation of counterfeit ballots. Specifically, a voter can potentially insert one or more counterfeit ballots into the ballot box (for later tabulation by the central ballot counter) or directly into the precinct ballot counter. As a result, the integrity of an election may be compromised if votes from counterfeit ballots are tabulated along with votes from authentic ballots.